The Biggleswade Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses has made a planning application to demolish Kingdom Hall, Shortmead Street, Biggleswade, (which is within a conservation area), and build a new Christian Meeting Room.
Details can be found at
http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/portal/index.asp
Planning cases numbers: CB/11/01495 & CB/11/01496
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From Mike Strange:
The building was the Church Memorial Hall. It was first mooted at a public meeting held in the Masonic Rooms on 21st January 1919 to discuss building a hall in memory of the soldiers who had fallen during the 1914-18 war. The site chosen was on land in front of the Church School. The land was conveyed to the Parochial Church Council represented by the vicar and churchwardens.
The building finally came to fruition when it opened on 9th October 1924 at 3pm followed by tea and entertainment, repeated at 7.30pm. Funds were raised by various donations including church bodies and by public subscription; the total cost was about £1,485. There was still an outstanding debt of £105 in July 1925 cleared by a fete in the vicarage gardens.
The Chapter House replaced the Memorial Hall and the hall was put up for sale. When the area behind was redeveloped the building was sold to The Jehovah Witnesses and was dedicated as the Kingdom Hall in March 1978. Since then the original building has been altered and enlarged on this important corner site together with a car park accessed from Ivel gardens.
Above is an artist's impression of the building in 1923.
If this is allowed to be demolished it will be another snook cocked at preserving our heritage and an insult to the men in whose honour it was originally constructed.
This building should be kept as it is, If it is not now large enough for what the Jehovah's want, Let them buy another building and leave this one to the Memory of our soldiers.
ReplyDeleteAlso I understand Fen Reeves want's to sell the Rose Lane car park for flat's to be built on it.
The School is a pleasant building to see as you go down Rose Lane we have not many old one's left in the town , And I don't like the thought of it being hidden behind modern flats.
Those of us who went to the School I am sure would rather it stayed as it was.
Perhaps our council with all our money could buy it so the Jehovah’s could move elsewhere, and with the loads of our money they have accumulated bring it back up to modern standards as far as insulation etc. They could reprovide the community centre (Avenue Club)they sold and never replaced and give it back its original name.
ReplyDelete